Dark violet
by SlytherinElektra
Summary: Tim is having a really bad day... but he has no idea of how much worse it will get. Tim-centered angst!
1. Chapter 1

It had gotten all a bit too much.

The team had received a call about a body on Bethesda that morning, and they were going to check it out. McGee had been left on the back side of the truck, as always, but this time it was extraordinary the way in which he was thrown around. After all those years he should had gotten used to it, but the truth was it felt even worse than the first time. And no one, had apologized to him, of course, and if he said something about it the others would call him a whiner, and probably laugh at him. So he had to stomach it as best as he could.

Something about the death they were investigating got to him specially. It was just a kid, a boy who had entered the navy only ten days ago and was filling some paperwork when he'd been shot, point blank. Like that, no warning, when he was just getting his life started. Such a sad thing….

The people he had to interrogate had been really rude and had refused to cooperate with him in the very least, so he came back empty handed. Gibbs blamed him for this, of course, asked him to do it over and get results and couple more impossible things due to the next two hours. All paired with that look of disapproval and disappointment. Great. Just great.

His team did not make his day any better. Tony's insistent talking and slightly hurtful jokes were more irritating than ever, Ziva seemed to be consciously ignoring him and Abby spent most of the time they shared talking about her new boyfriend. More joy.

Usually, Tim went on through days like that without any problems, hoping the next day would be better, trying not to give it much thought. But not today. No. He'd had enough. Enough of the laughter, enough of the mock, enough of the violence, of the death, of the endless hours of work and empty hours at home, of never being fast enough, or interesting enough, or being called boring, freak, you damn cop.

When Tim finally got home he locked his apartment door, and rested his head on the door. He knew being sad was useless. He knew tears wouldn't solve anything. He knew he should be stronger, and not let the bad stuff get so powerful. He knew that there were people out there who actually cared about him. He knew all of this things, but felt none of them. He only felt the lump in his throat getting bigger.

Deciding he deserved a bit of time for himself, Tim turned off his cell phone, disconnected the house number and every other way to contact him and threw himself face down on the couch, dead to the world.

Tomorrow it would be a better day, he told himself. He would help making justice for that poor boy, give his family some closure. He would make Gibbs tell him "good job, Tim". He would answer Tony's jokes with smarter jokes and be the winner of the battle of wits. He would ask Ziva if there was anything wrong. And he would tell Abby that, even if he was happy for her, knowing all those details kind of hurt. Yes, he would make everything all right. It was going to be a great day.

But the next morning came, and Timothy McGee was nowhere to be found.

A/N: What has happened to poor McGee? How will the rest of the team react? I hope you liked it! Pleaseeee tell what you think of the start of the story! You know you want to review!


	2. Chapter 2

Everything seemed normal that morning, which passed uneventfully, slowly. Tony had been busy trying to investigate the case while receiving in all his phones and mail adresses the insistent calls of a woman she'd seen some nights before and who wouldn't leave her alone. He then went to lunch on his own while Ziva was deep in research, trying to get something worth reporting.

It was early afternoon when things started happenning. Ziva and Tony were researching some clues from the case of the dead kid in Bethesda and playfully teasing each other, until the stern voice of Gibbs interrupted them.

"What you got?"

Both agents proudly explianed their advances on the case, trying to impress the boss and trying to sound better than the other, as juvenile as it could seem. They hadn't found anything that stood out on the boy's background, but his CO had been calling him an alarmingly high number of times on the day prior to his death, which looked suspicious. Gibbs decided to take Tony with him to interview the suspect and get Ziva and McGee to talk to the family, when he realized that the latter was not on his desk.

"Where's McGee?"

"I haven't seen him today, but there was something wrong with his computer, he's probably in the lab with Abby." Answered Tony.

"Ziva, you find him and go with him talk with the parents, see if you can get something interesting, anything they know about why the boy joined the navy, if he was happy... Anything you can on his personal life. He didn't have time to make enemies on the navy, it had to be personal."

"No problem, boss."

Ziva went down to the lab to find McGee, realizing that he hadn't seen him at all that day, but figuring that he would be with Abby in the lab, because the man was NEVER late. She was glad Gibbs had paired her with Tim, he was always a nice person to work with, and she had barely seen him the previous day with all the turmoil of the new case. Abby's music filled the air as soon as the elevator opened, and Ziva started looking for her partner with her eyes, but she only saw Abby doing something on her computer.

"Hey, Abby"

"Zivaaa! What brings you down to my dungeon?" The forensic expert chanted happily when she realized she wasn't alone anymore.

"I am looking for McGee, Gibbs has asked us to go interrogate the family of the boy. Where is he?"

"I don't know." She said, her smile suddenly dropping "I haven't seen him all day, and he usually comes to say hello... He wasn't up there with you?"

"No, he was not. Strange. He usually is here before anyone else."

"He's probably just caught in one of those virtual worlds, or writing his new novel. Let's give him a call!" Abby said, trying to minimize her growing concern. _Yesterday he had that sad look in his eyes,_she thought, _and today he's late.I have a bad feeling about this._

But there was no way to reach him, since all of his phones were turned off. Ziva and Abby looked at each other anxiously, wondering what the hell was going on.

"Maybe Sarah knows where he is." Said Abby, really hoping she was right before strating to worry full-mode.

"Hello?" Sarah's voice said on the other end.

"Hey, Sarah? I'm Abby from..." But she was interrupted by the energetic girl.

"Oh, Abby, I was just about to call you! I need to talk with Tim but I can't locate him. Could you tell him to call me as soon as he can?"

"You don't know where he is?" Abby asked, the concern evident in her voice.

"No, I don't... Why?"

"No reason. Take care!" Abby said, and quickly hung up, not wanting to worry the girl no reason. "He probably needed some time for himself, we all need to be alone from time" The goth concluded, trying to calm herself.

"I will stop by his place to check on him and bring him back to work then." Ziva said, feeling quite anxious too. Shouldn't have noticed Tim's absence earlier? What if something had happenned?

She promised to inform Abby if she learnt anything and headed for McGee's apartment. She knew that Gibbs would call soon wanting an update on the case, but she had to do this first. The ride seemed endless, the minutes too long. The moment she found McGee he was going to hear her. How dare he worry them all like that? An agent is supposed to be reachable at all times!

Ziva finally made it to Tim's apartment and, without even looking at it, started knocking on the door and the bell.

"McGee! It is Ziva! Open the door!"

But no one came, and there wasn't any sound on the other side. Something was definitely going on. She knocked on the door again, and after a particularly harsh blow the door opened itself. Horrified, Ziva saw that the lock on her colleague's door was completely destroyed. Instinctively, she drew her weapon and went into the apartment. The place was deserted and nothing stood out on the neatly organized apartment. Gibbs called her just as she was entering the bedroom.

"Ziva, what did the parents say?"

She had almost forgotten about the case and was trying to find a way to start explaining the situation. That was when she saw it.

"The pa... Oh, no!"

"Ziva... What is it?" Gibbs urged on the other end.

"Boss, we have a big problem. You have to send a whole team here, and bring Tony, too."

"Where? Ziva, is this case related?"

"Forget the case!" she yelled "McGee is missing, his door was broken and... and there's blood all over his bed. I am at his apartment. You need to come too."

"We'll be right there."

Ziva hung up and looked at the scene before her. It painfully stood out, among the perfectly cleaned white sheets a huge crimsom stain that could only be blood. _Where are you, Tim? _she wondered, hoping it was all a big misunderstanding, a big joke, anything that was not what it looked like.

7777777777777777777777777777

Tim woke up to a terrible pain in his stomach. The first thing he noticed was that he couldn't move his hands, something seemed to be tying them on his back. That was strange. He also appeared to be sitting on the floor and leaning into some cold stone wall. He opened his eyes and found himself sprawled in a deserted white room with no windows and a big door in front of him, a place he had never been before. And then he remembered.

He remembered feeling someone on him while was still half sleep, he remembered screaming and fighting and the blade his attacker plunged in his stomach to make him stop fighting. He tried to move, he tried to get up, but couldn't. A short while later, the door opened, and a long shadow appeared on the other side of the door.

"Hello, Tim" it said "Welcome to hell."

A/N: Like it? Not? Please let me know what you think! And a very big thank you to those who did on the previous chapter! Hoped you like this one too ^^ In the next chapter we'll find out the identity of the attacker! You know you want to review!


	3. Chapter 3

"We should have noticed!" shouted Ziva on the passenger seat of the car, while she and Tony rode to headquarters after processing McGee's place. Gibbs had taken another car earlier and was going to ask Vance to take the team off the dead kid's case so they could investigate whatever had happened to his agent.

"How did we miss that? We should have called, we should have made sure he was with Abby instead of making assumptions and losing time! He was gone and we just ignored him! What is wrong with us?"

Tony didn't need to add more guilt to the one he already felt, but he understood that Ziva was angry with herself and that she needed to express it somehow.

"We gain nothing blaming ourselves, Ziva." Said Tony, strangely solemn. "Yeah, it was wrong on our part, but now we have to focus on the investigation and don't let our feelings distract us. The faster we figure out who was the bastard who took Tim and catch him the faster we'll make amends. "

As calm as he might have sounded on the outside, Tony was all guilt inside. He had been too absorbed on his problems and himself to notice something as big as that. Even Ziva and Abby had figured it out before him…. And even before that, he hadn't been an extraordinary friend. How many times had he teased Tim? How many times had he ridiculed his love life, his hobbies, all those things he cared about? Yes, it was all joking, but sometimes he'd been quite nasty. And now something had happened to him.

And all that blood… Tony really wished it wasn't his partner's, but it seemed like the only logical explanation. He lived alone, and if he had attacked someone for some reason (which seemed unlikely) he would've gone straight to Gibbs. But maybe Tim had gotten some of the attacker's blood on that sheet while fighting back... Damn, it hurt just to think about it. McGood guy, attacked in his own home. Tony only wished it could be solved quickly and without lasting consequences. Suddenly, DiNozzo remembered Kate, and shuddered, suddenly afraid. This could NOT end that way.

Ziva, on her part, had experienced a similar turmoil on the ride. When they had finished processing she had been confident that they would catch this guy and everything would be fine in no time, but the more she thought about it, more uncertain she felt. At first it was just anger, at whoever it was the attacker (How did they dare?) but then she felt angry with herself. She should've known, she should've asked.

And she feared something real bad had happened to poor McGee and she felt helpless. It was those moments of not knowing anything that killed her. If she knew something, if she was given a lead then she could focus on that, form an accurate picture in her mind and set a course of action. But for that she needed to know something. Right now, all she had was her intuition and that bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

When they finally arrived they had to deal with something even worse: Abby. She'd been happy to see them arrive because she was anxious for news, but when she saw those bloodstained sheets she almost lost it. It was proof that something was officially wrong, a physical undeniable reason for her to be worried. And all of that mess had been so sudden, so unexpected…. One minute McGee was perfectly fine but too busy to go down and visit and the next he was missing. Usually there was a period of threats, a be-careful-and-take-care-of-yourself period (responded by a comforting "Don't you worry, I'll be fine") and then it was when people went missing. But this… blood, a broken door, all the phones turned off… it was almost too much to digest.

But she was a professional, so she took the evidence and ran the usual tests, like in any other case. She had a million questions for Tony and Ziva, but they seemed to know little more than she did. So, instead she just waited for her machines to tell her something. It was an agonic wait, but when Abby saw Gibbs coming at her door she knew the results were going to be there in no time. She had barely said a "Hi, Gibbs" when the computer beeped, showing a picture of the person whose DNA matched the bloodstains.

The blood was Tim's. All of it.

* * *

><p>"Who are you? What do you want from me?" McGee asked to his captor, not letting the pain he was in slip in his voice.<p>

"I'm someone who simply needed you out of the way. I decided to take you down before you caused some trouble, because I've always a fan of prevention. It's cleaner." The guy said, slowly walking towards him. It was a white guy, really tall, probably in his mid-to-late-thirties.

"Why? What could I do to you?" Tim asked, trying to get more information on the man. As he approached, he started seeing better his attacker's face, and it was familiar. McGee had recently seen it… Yes, in some pictures…. Suddenly, it all clicked.

"You're Abby's new boyfriend!"

The guy (which was his name? Karl? Kurt) knelt in front of Tim and gave him an angry look.

"Exactly, I am Abby's boyfriend, and you, my dear friend, were nothing but an obstacle. Abby spoke too well of you, I couldn't take the risk of you stealing her, now could I? Now you'll be just the memory of the best friend who sadly disappeared and was never found. She'll shed a few tears and always remember comforting I was in those difficult moments. It will bring us closer. And I get to eliminate the competition. Perfect plan, isn't it?"

The arrogance of the guy had gotten to Tim.

"No, it's not. I'm an NCIS agent, my team will find me in no time. You've chosen the wrong people to mess with."

"Au contraire, my dear friend, your NCIS team will be conducting a complex investigation on navy related kidnapping series, thinking that you are the last victim. I've planted a very nice trail of evidence to distract them, using all the things Abby has told me about her job. It's very nice info. I told you, it's a perfect plan."

"No." Tim said, stubborn "Abby will find out that you're a psycho and the team will find me. I know they will."

"My dear friend, abandon all hope. It's pointless. I'll play with you a bit: maybe a couple of beatings, I'll make you scream a bit and when you're too broken to play with I'll kill you, and burn your pathetic remains. It's a perfect plan. And there's no hope. You'll spend your last days as my toy and die alone, as sadly as you lived. That's it."

Tim held the man's gaze, a dignified look of strength in his eyes.

But when the captor was gone and he was in the darkness again, his eyes were suddenly filled with tears.

What if they never found him again?

A/N: Hope you liked it! Sorry the huge delay, I've been on a trip in London (awesome!) and with a lot college papers. Next one will have more Gibbs ^^ Please tell me what you think! You know you want to review!


	4. Chapter 4

McGee awoke in that dark room still tied. Both his hands and legs were tied and could hardly move. Not being able to move was starting to take its toll and the wound from the stabbing was getting really painful, but it didn't matter. He had to get out of there, he needed to. Tim thought he heard the guy leaving an hour earlier, and decided this was his chance to try to escape. This guy had probably made a mistake, left some open passage something... and he would find it. He would get out and warn Abby about that psycho boyfriend of hers, and be back with the team in no time.

McGee would prove his captor wrong and teach him that he couldn't mess with a Special Agent like himself and get away with it.

++++++++++++77

Gibbs had hardly slept in the last two days. How could he, when the life of one his agents was on the line? How could he take an hour off of work knowing that if he worked he'd be one hour closer to catching that bastard?

But it was not an easy case, and not just for the emotional implications. Everything was off-putting clean about the scene and how McGee was taken, everything seemed really silent about it. No witnesses, no strange sounds, no clues. It was clear that they hadn't taken McGee for ransom or to hold hostage since no one had spoken up about the kidnapping, so that left personal reasons or money issues, which didn't make any sense. Tim had money, yes, but not enough to justify an attack like that. And the personal angle... who'd want to hurt Tim? He was one the kindest, calmest people he knew and every time he'd wronged someone he had apologized.

Something was not right about all that.

Gibbs decided to check on Abby, see if she had anything new to add. As usual, he'd chosen the exact time to appear.

"Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs!" Abby enthusiastically greeted him as he arrived to the lab.

"You got something?" asked the boss, knowing the answer would be positive.

"That is correct! The sheets and the rest of the evidence is pretty clean, mostly, but I found a cute little symbol on one of the corners, and I put on the database and I linked it to a series of kidnappings that had been going on the last two months!"

"A series of kidnappings?"

"Yeah, six kidnappings on the last couple of months, all navy related but not navy, mostly relatives of sailors that went missing while they were going to work. The sailors got weird voicemails asking for a ransom, and in four of the cases the money was sent and the victim released, in other two no money, victims were found dead. In every case the perpetrator left this sign on the victim's house and smashed the door to symbolically say that the house was not safe anymore."

"And you think this is the same guy?" asked Gibbs, suspicious.

"Well, yeah, the sign, the broken door, it matches! And McGee is navy related but not nay too, so he fits the profile. "

"But the M.O. is completely different, Abby. The previous victims were grabbed in their way to work and McGee at home and we haven't received voicemails regarding him."

"You think this was a copycat?"

"Could be. I'll get Tony to work on this series and Ziva on the copycat angle. That's good work, Abs." Gibbs said as he started to leave for the elevator.

"Thank, boss. And Gibbs?"

"Yeah?"

"Find him. Find him quick."

The boss gave her a quick nod and left. Something was definitely not right about all that, that much he knew. Whoever had taken Tim had not only left everything terribly clean, they had also planted misleading evidence. This was a very well thought attack and it was not going to be easy finding whoever had done it. Damn.

Gibbs put his agents to work, and even though he knew they would be fast it would still take time to raise some conclusions. And every minute was another minute that cold-minded bastard had his agent.

Oh, how he hoped they weren't too late.

He was so close to the door, he was convinced he was going to make to make it.

Tim McGee was already fantasizing about getting out of that building, about eating and drinking and getting that wound and that headache fixed, about his heroic return to work, about... But the door suddenly opened and hit him and his fantasies with an incredible strength.

"Bad boy..." said a mean voice behind the door "that's what happens when you get out of your corner. You didn't think I'd leave you to do whatever you wanted all day, right? No, I'm watching your every move and everytime you get close to the door... Well, you see what happens."

The door had hit Tim in the face, that now had a bloody nose and a split looked at his captor with hatred, but the guy merely smiled.

"Now you be a good boy and wait for me in here, I have some recently sharpened knives I want you to meet."

Tim winced.

He needed to get out of there.

Now.

A/N: Liked it? Not? Please revieeeeew! I want to know what you guys think! Hope you enjoyed it, anyways. And as always sorry for the spelling/grammar mistakes!

You know you want to review!


	5. Chapter 5

Abby was mad with herself. She had cracked cases in almost no time, saved the lives of countless strangers and yet she was finding it impossible to even get close to Timmy. She felt she couldn't distinguish between the real evidence and the evidence that had been planted, and the few things that seemed genuine were confusing or contradictory. This guy, whoever he was, had been extremely thorough. It was as if he knew how she worked and had carefully acted to leave her clueless. And she hated it.

Tony had found a lot of inconsistencies with the other kidnapping cases, so the copycat angle was going stronger. Gibbs suspected the kidnapper knew NCIS would investigate and was trying to make them look in the wrong way. And it was probably true. Abby turned off her music. As dark and oppressive as it could be, it seemed too cheerful for the moment. She went over the little evidence she had again, hoping to find something she missed, but subconsciously knowing it would only lead to more frustration.

She just couldn't forget the last time she was with Tim. He seemed really sad and she noticed but she didn't, not even once, asked if he was okay. Why hadn't she asked? She usually knew everything that was going on with her colleagues; she was always there to comfort and hug whenever necessary but not that day. She had just talked and talked about herself and how happy she was. Not caring about anything else.

Abby desperately needed to make it up for him, to tell him she cared, to tell him needed him and missed him, to tell him that he was always on her mind, that he was an amazing person. And now she was even angrier with herself. Why hadn't she said all those things when she had the choice? Why all the jokes, the teasing ? The evidence came clean, again. Nothing new on her computer. Abby sighed, trying to suppress the tears.

"I really miss him, Bert" she told her hippo. "I don't know what I'll do if something has happenned to Timmy."

* * *

><p>Kevin smiled cheerfully at the waitress of the bar. He was meeting his sister there, to catch up and talk. Usually, he refused invitations from his sister but his new project had him in an awfully cheerful mood. Whenever he felt powerless or angry or frustrated, he only had to go to the soundproof room and play a little with his new toy. Special Agent McGee, that respectable man, reduced to a barely conscious mount of blood and tears. He decided to take that down for a song and continued to be delightful while she was with his sister, Lisa. She was really glad to see how everything was working for him. She had no idea how much.<p>

"Bye, Kev" Lisa said, smiling. "I'm glad things are better for you."

Everything was more than better now that he could take out his anger and frustration in that stupid excuse for a person he'd locked down, and was right down tied down on a corner of the dark soundproof room. Kevin couldn't understand what Abby could've seen in him. It had been pity most likely, his girl had always been a charitable one. He thought about his "project" (as he called it) with a mischievous smile on his lips, about how everything was going according to plan. He'd heard about the investigation of the disappearance, and they were getting nowhere, absolutely nowhere. They would never get to him, never even suspect him . And it was so invigorating to outsmart the good guys!While he remained the innocent outsider, the nice oblivious boyfriend.

Ah! He loved his life. There was only one more thing to make that day perfect. He pulled the phone from the pocket of his pants and dialed the number.

"Hello, love! How do you feel about a night of groovy live music tonight? Does it sound good?"

"No, I- I can't I've got work on the lab and, I can't I'm sorry." Said Abby on the other end of the line, sounding distressed.

"And if I go pick you up from work and we go watch a movie at your place? Nice, quiet and intimate? I'm dying to see you!" Kevin added with his most suggestive tone of voice.

"I really can't. This case..."

"Please?" He pleaded, not wanting to ruin his perfect day.

"I said I don't want to see you, Kevin!" And she hung up, abruptly.

Kevin hadn't liked that. At all. How could she?

Someone was going to pay.

* * *

><p>Abby felt better now. She'd been really close to losing it a couple of hours ago, when her boyfriend had called. He had nothing against him, he'd been real nice the whole time they'd been together, but he was also the last person he wanted to talk to in that moment. The only thought of going out partying with him, who was almost a stranger when all that crap was going on was almost sickening. No, it wasn't tolerable. He had no place. But after crying a bit of Gibbs shoulder and Tony telling her that they had two new suspects on McGee's case (a neighbor and a crazy fan of his book) she had calmed down a bit. Things seemed clearer now, everything was going to be OK. They would solve this case like they'd solved all the previous ones and she was totally overreacting.<p>

She felt bad about yelling at Kevin who had nothing to do with that entire situation. That was her, always feeling things. She dialed the number and heard the tones going by. He probably didn't want to speak to her. But when she was about to give up the rings stopped and there was sound on the other end of the line. The first thing she heard was the phone dropping to floor and then the sounds of someone in the background, some sort of struggle.

"Hello?" she asked, uncertain "Kevin? Are you there?"

There were more strange sounds until Abby heard something she understood.

"Abby! Abby, help!"

"Timmy?"

The line went dead.

A/N: Penny for your thoughts, dear reader? Hope you enjoyed ^^

You know you want to review!


	6. Chapter 6

Abby stood frozen for a couple of minutes, hearing again and again the phone call in her head. As an expert audio analyst with over ten years she'd learned a lot: hearing background sounds, analyzing the sounds of shootings, of cars, voices. And that was Tim's voice. A voice she'd heard so much, so many times over those last years, a voice that had said the nicest things to her. And he was asking for help. Not wanting to think why Kevin was involved in all that, she tried to compose herself and quickly wrote his address on a piece of paper.

Just then, with perfect timing arrived Gibbs, knowing that Abby would have something new.

"Gibbs! I heard him, Gibbs! I was calling my boyfriend but there was no one on the other end of the line, well I could hear some kind of struggle and then the phone falling and I called my boyfriend's name, Kevin, but he didn't answer, it was Timmy on the other side! He called me and asked for help!"

"Your boyfriend has McGee?" asked Gibbs, confused.

"I don't know, maybe it was someone else with his phone? But I heard him, boss, I swear it was Tim!"

"I believe you, Abby. Now, can you GPS that phone for me?"

"Sure."

The phone was off, but Abby gave her boss Kevin's address and he left to gather Tony and Ziva and go to the scene. He promised Abby he'd called her as soon as they knew something, and hoped to be able to give her good news.

* * *

><p>The ride to the address given was a tense one. Gibbs, Tony and Ziva couldn't wait to arrive, and every minute was a minute too long. They thought they were prepared for everything: a psycho with many weapons, a dark basement…. But they weren't prepared for the astounding normalcy that they found in there. It was an apartment building and Kevin lived on the third floor.<p>

"NCIS!" Gibbs yelled "Open the door!"

And just seconds later, a young long-haired guy appeared on the other side of the door, smiling

"Please, come in."

Ziva and Tony looked at each other, confused. They imagined that the guy would've escaped and left everything behind, or that there would be some sort of gunfire…. A mean looking guy, at least. Could Abby have imagined Tim's voice? What if she was wrong?

The three agents came in the house and saw with dismay that there was nothing out of place and no signs of Tim. They searched all the rooms, and only found some instruments and some expired meds. Nothing even remotely case related.

"Can I ask what this is all about?" Said Kevin, calm and collected.

Gibbs gave the man a hard stare. This guy was enjoying himself immensely, watching them going through the rooms, clueless. Yes, this guy knew what it was all about.

"We are investigating the case of a missing person. We had information that suggested he was here." Ziva said with a look of total disappointment in her eyes.

"Oh… Abby's friend, right? So tragic. I hope you find him soon."

"Where were you this afternoon, Mr. Hamilton?" Asked Tony, trying to figure out if they could do something against this guy.

"I was with my sister Lisa, on a café, why?" Kevin answered innocently.

"And do you have your cell phone with you?"

"I think I lost it. Is something wrong?"

That guy even managed to look concerned. His "I don't know what is this about" was real good. But Gibbs wasn't buying a word of it.

"Why do you have an empty room with no windows in your apartment, Mr. Hamilton?" he asked.

"It's to rehearse. I like having a place with no objects to distract me, even the sun can be distracting." Said Kevin, who was starting to dislike that conversation.

"And why does it reek of bleach?"

"I just cleaned it."

"I thought you were with your sister." Answered Gibbs, trying to destroy that guy's aggressive confidence. "And what happened to your hand, Mr. Hamilton?"

Kevin looked down at the bandages in his hand and remembered the fight. That insolent McGee had tried to escape using his ropes and had shown a remarkable strength. There had been some kicks and punches and that was when he'd dropped the phone. That damn phone. And Abby had to call just then. Luckily, her voice had distracted McGee and Kevin used the moment to finally knock him out. It had been a hell of a fight, but he had won. And now those stupid NCIS would never find him.

"I had a little accident in the kitchen. Is that all? Because I don't see how I could I help any further. The agent you're looking for it's not here, and you have nothing that connects him to me. Your information must be wrong. Now, there are things I need to get back to."

The two men looked at each other for what seemed to be an eternity. There was much more said in that look that in all the previous. Gibbs was saying "_I'm onto you"_ and Kevin said with no words _"Catch me if you can"_.

"Do not leave the city, Mr. Hamilton, we may need to ask you some more questions." Ziva said before they left." She wanted to take that guy form the neck and ask him were the hell he had McGee but she knew that an arrogant guy like that would probably enjoy the attention. Disgusting.

The three agents left the building and headed back to HQ, eager to keep digging and finally be able to catch that guy.

* * *

><p>When Tim awoke, the first thing he noticed was the unusual darkness. Where was he? Why wasn't he in his bed? Oh my god, what if he was late for work?<p>

Then, slowly, the memories started to come back to him. The kidnapper, the dark room, the fight and then, Abby's voice. He was sure it was her. It had been the only happy moment in all that hell. But then he passed out and now… With an increasing panic, Tim realized that he was in a very confined space. He couldn't stretch his legs, and with his hands he could touch some sort of metallic ceiling. What was that place? A coffin, a closet?

As the minutes went by, Tim started to breathe with more difficulty, and noticed something hard next to him. A tire. That was when he understood.

He was in the trunk of a car. And there was almost no air.

A/N: Did you like it? Sorry for long the wait and any mistakes there may be! Hope you enjoyed and please let me know what you think! I love to hear from you ^^

You know you want to review!


	7. Chapter 7

"Help! Somebody help me!"

Tim didn't want to scream because he knew that took a lot of air but he wanted to believe that maybe there was someone out there who could hear him and get him out of there and then the nightmare would be over. He knew that if the car was in a parking lot there could be more people getting their cars, or parking them. With that hope he punched the steel above him and asked for help, but no one came. The minutes went by, and as they did it was harder to keep his eyes open. He tried to stay awake, but his eyes wouldn't obey him and they slowly closed... When Kevin went to collect his "toy" from his car he found him unconscious, and for a minute thought he was dead. But no, that was not going to happen... yet. He wasn't done playing with him.

When Tim awoke again he realized with relief that he could breathe much better, and that he was not on a confined space anymore. He looked around with tired eyes and noticed that he was in some sort of basement, and that his hands were cuffed behind his back. He rested his head against the wall and thought of Abby, of Tony's jokes... Of his life outside that nightmare. The memories made him happy for a while but the feeling didn't last long.

The pain form his wounds and the lack of food and drink were slowly bringing him down, and as the hours went by everything seemed darker. He was hurting, he was lonely and felt completely abandoned. Why wasn't the team already there? Had they forgotten him? Maybe there was some case more important than him... Tears began to fall down his cheeks, slow but steady.

"No! It's not true!" he said to no one in particular.

Pushing those dark thoughts away, Tim composed himself and decided that Gibbs and the others were just about to save him. He only wished they would hurry...

* * *

><p>Gibbs was very mad about his encounter with Kevin Hamilton. That guy was playing them! He knew they had very little to go on, almost no solid proof and was enjoying it. But there was a positive side: now he had someone on who focus all his rage and motivation. He put Tony running a background check on him, asking him to be doubly thorough: he knew this guy was good covering his tracks. And went with Ziva to check out the alibi of the man, he was going first to see the sister and then go to the café. Lisa Hamilton was just watching a mindless action movie when they knocked on her door.<p>

"Hello?" Said a woman on the other side of the door.

"Hello, Miss Hamilton, I'm Special Agent Gibbs and this is Special Agent Ziva David from NCIS, we're here to ask you some questions about your brother."

At the mention of him, her gaze dropped to the floor, and she asked the agents to come inside.

"What has Kevin done to get involved with the Navy police?" Lisa asked, after signaled her two guests to have a seat. It was Ziva who answered:

"One of our partners is missing and we suspect your brother might have something to do with it. He claims he was with you this afternoon, is that true?"

"We met for about 20 minutes this afternoon on a café down the street, The Plata café."

"Only twenty minutes?" asked Gibbs, seeing a hole in the man's alibi.

"Yeah." she said, confused. "He left early, said he had some business to attend to. Wait, can you at least tell me what has this missing partner of yours have to do with my brother?"

Gibbs, seeing as the woman had fully cooperated with them felt there was no problem filling her in.

"Your brother, Miss Hamilton, is the current boyfriend of our forensic scientist, Abby. She is also a close friend of our missing agent."

"It happened again…" Lisa said, distraught.

"What do you mean?" asked Ziva, feeling they were finally getting somewhere.

"A few years ago, Kevin had another girlfriend, Mary and her ex-husband disappeared shortly after they started dating. The ex-husband's body appeared three weeks later, apparently after killing himself. But there were strange things about that suicide, there was an investigation and Kevin was one of the suspects. There was no proof to convict anyone, but there was a shrink working with the police who was totally convinced that Kevin had killed him. She investigated, but she didn't find any solid proof. And then, when the case was closed she said that it was going to happen again that Kevin was dangerous. That he would kill again. Of course, at the moment we all hated her and thought she was crazy, but now…."

"Can you tell us the name of that shrink, Miss Hamilton?"

Ziva knew that a psychiatrist who had investigated their suspect could be useful, because she could give them information about the methods and ways of that psycho.

"Dr. Howling."

With this new information Ziva and Gibbs went back to headquarters. There, Ziva spoke with the shrink, who faxed them a study she'd made on Hamilton's personality. The police had not accepted it at the time, but it seemed like a gift form heaven now. There were details about his obsessive and possessive personality who gave new sense to their theory.

Not only that, Tony had found Kevin ona security camera from McGee's neighborhood from the night that he was taken. He had motive, they had him on the scene (or near, at least), Abby had heard McGee on his phone and they also had a scientific report that said he was perfectly capable of doing those things.

"We have him." Gibbs stated and he and the rest of the team went to arrest him, finally seeing some light.

But their joy was short-lived. Even if they knew it was him, they had no idea where Tim was. Hamilton didn't put much resistance to the arrest and went straight to interrogation but he was winning. Again. He didn't answer any of Gibbs' questions but when they ended, then, the psycho started talking.

"So" he began "you know I have your agent and you know I'm very good covering my tracks, which means that it will be very difficult for you to find where I'm holding him. Trust me, I made a special effort to find an untraceable place this time. And every minute you have me here, trying to break me, he's someplace incommunicated, alone and injured and with no chance of getting food or water. It doesn't look too good, now, does it?"

A/N: Hope you liked it! Pleaaaaaase tell me something about the chapter! Do review! Any comment is deeply appreciated by the author :) Next up, we'll have Abby confronting her horrible crazy boyfriend and it's not going to be pretty!

You know you want to review!


	8. Chapter 8

Abby had tried to keep up with what was happening, but she only got pieces of it. Gibbs and the others acted quickly, and they couldn't be distracted with phone calls. She knew that she couldn't get in the way of the investigation, but the anxiety was killing her. Up until now, she'd been able to bottle up the guilt but now she couldn't stop thinking that it was all her fault. After all, if she hadn't spoken about Tim when she was with Kevin (or if she hadn't started that psycho in the first place) none of this would've happened. Because it was clear that it was him, now. She'd decided to date a serial killer. And Tim, an innocent bystander, was suffering the consequences of her poor choice.

She wished she could turn back time, she wished she could tell her past self not to even approach that guy. She remembered the day she met him, how interesting he seemed with his guitar. She'd fallen in his trap completely. And then…. The last day Timmy was around all she did was tell him how awesome Kevin was. It was a revolting thought. What if those were the last words she spoke to him? Tim had been nothing but sweet with her when they were together and all those years at work, she could always count on him for help….. But she had to screw it up. And she let him go to date _stars _like Kevin.

Depressing thoughts like these floated in her head for a while until she decided it was time to stop feeling sorry for herself. She took the elevator and walked in the bullpen, demanding to know the latest advances on the investigation. Luckily, Tony was there looking frantically at something in his computer, so she went after him.

"Tony! How are things? Did you find something linking Kevin to Timmy?"

"Yes" he said "we did, but the bastard won't tell us where he has him. I'm trying to track down his whereabouts of the last days but he is extremely good covering his tracks. I probably won't get anything solid on the search. And he is though, too. I mean, Gibbs has been questioning for more than an hour and the guy…" But Tony was interrupted by a wide-eyed Abby.

"Wait, he's here?"

"Yes, Abby, but…"

The forensic scientist had already stormed off just after hearing Tony say yes. It didn't take her long to find him. He was in one of the interrogation rooms, looking good as always and smiled at her.

"Abby, my dear, it so good to see you…"

"Shut up! Shut up! The only thing I want to hear is the place where you have Tim." She said, enraged. Gibbs had been in the background since she came in, hoping that she would get something out of the guy.

"I know that you can't see the importance of…" but Kevin was cut off by the fuming goth.

"The place, Kevin. NOW."

"He was getting in the way, sweetheart. You'll see that this going to be good for us."

"Us? Us?" Shouted Abby, unable to believe what she was hearing "There is no us, there was never any us, you idiot. We just had a couple of dates, some drinks, some sex. It wasn't even good. And I will regret those damned days for the rest of my life."

"You don't mean that." He said, and his legendary cool seemed to start breaking.

"Of course I do. You have been one of the biggest mistakes of mi life. And if something has happened to Tim….I… I'll make sure you pay for it. I'll find the evidence that couldn't destroy and make sure you're behind bars for the rest of your life." She said, her voice cold as ice.

"But Abby…. You love me…"

"And if Tim is dead when we find him" she continued, her voice cracking up a bit "then I'll make my personal mission to make every day that you live hell. Because it wouldn't be fair that you get to live and he doesn't. If anything has happened to him I will break you. Because he meant everything and you mean nothing."

After this, unable to contain her emotions anymore, Abby stormed out of the room, leaving a devastated Kevin alone with Gibbs.

"So, Mr. Hamilton, looks like you're screwed. Depending on how soon do you tell us where Agent McGee is, things for you will be bad or worse. Your call."

Tony had run into another dead end on his research of Hamilton's whereabouts so he decided to try to locate Abby, and went to the interrogation rooms. She found her outside one of them and realized that she had watery eyes.

"Hey, Abs" he whispered "what's wrong?"

Abby looked up and hugged Tony, desperate for some comforting human contact. And cried.

"Everything, Tony, everything is wrong."

"We'll find him, Abby. We will."

Tony only hoped that it wouldn't be too late when they did.

* * *

><p>Tim McGee had tried screaming for help, had tried escaping, and had tried to leave an SOS message. He'd done everything he could think of and none of it was working. He slowly convinced himself that no one would come. This was it, the last days of Timothy McGee.<p>

He thought of Sarah and how happy they were when they were kids and spent all summer playing.

He thought of the wonderful time when he and Abby were together.

And with these last thoughts he closed his eyes, convinced that he would never open them again.

A/N: Did you like it? I hope so! Sorry for the long wait…. As always, I love to hear your thoughts. Anything at all. You know you want to review!


	9. Chapter 9

He knew there was nothing left to do. The plan had been to let McGee rot while he got away, somewhere far and with Abby, but now his dreams were shattered. Kevin had seen all his projects go to hell, all his hard work come undone. Abby had said he was meaningless. Instead of seeing his feat like a gentleman's deed for love, instead of realizing that he had done it all for her because he would do whatever it took to be with her... But no. She told her he was nothing. Nothing! After all the sacrifices he'd made for her, and now she was abandoning him. Not only that, she was going to work to convict him, she was going to work against him! And that Gibbs man was creeping the hell out of him. He didn't care for when he thought Abby was on his side, but now... now he had no one on his side, nothing... or maybe...

"I can tell you where your guy is, but I want some guarantees."

* * *

><p>Two hours later, the team was ready to raid a dark, seemingly abandoned warehouse and came in, charging. That was the address that Kevin had given them, in the hopes of getting a merciful conviction. Gibbs, Tony and Ziva searched every room, but there was no one there. Not a trace of Tim, nothing.<p>

"Damn!" shouted Gibbs.

"You think he played us, boss?" asked Tony, still with the gun in his hand, still searching frantically with his eyes for some clue.

"He seemed sincere enough." Answered Gibbs.

"Why would he deceive us? He wins nothing by distracting us." Added Ziva, confused as well.

They checked the building again, and the buildings next to the warehouse (just in case) but to no avail. There was nothing.

Tony sighed in frustration.

"I really thought we were going to find him…. We should probably go back to headquarters."

The team admitted defeat and was going back to the car when Ziva noticed something strange on the floor. At first she couldn't quite place what it was, but then, it hit her. The sound. There was an area where she'd walked that sounded different than the others. She went back to where she came from and found it again. Yes, her footsteps sounded different there.

She went down to examine the area and finally found it. A secret door on the floor and some stairs under it. A secret basement.

"Gibbs! Tony! Come here! I found another room!"

Both men ran back into the warehouse and followed Ziva down those secret stairs. After the fiasco of the warehouse, this gave them new hopes. They still could find Tim. With their weapons drawn, carefully, they entered the main room of the basement and saw someone in the shadows.

"Tim!"

There he was, they had finally found him. Tim was sprawled in the corner on the basement, his hand behind his back and a trail of dried blood in his stomach. Tony and Ziva uncuffed him while Gibbs called the ambulance. McGee was injured, unconscious and pale as a sheet, but he was alive and he was no longer in the power of a psycho. No, he was back with his family and everything was going to be ok. Relief was present in all the faces: they were happy the nightmare was finally over. They waited until the ambulance came and followed it to the hospital. Everything seemed to be going better.

Abby was having a sip of caf-pow when the call came. The call she'd wanted to hear the most for the last days. It was Tony, telling her that they'd found Timmy and they were taking him to the hospital. He was alive, he was safe. A couple of tears of joys made her way through her cheeks while she packed her things and left.

The trip to the hospital seemed eternal; she wanted so badly to be there! When she finally arrived, it didn't take her long to find the others. Ducky and Jimmy were there too, they had arrived only a couple of minutes before her. She hugged everyone and together they waited until they saw a doctor approaching them, hopefully with news about their partner's condition.

"Are you Tim's doctor?" She asked the doctor, a smiling woman about her age with bushy brown hair.

"I am the doctor, indeed. You're all here for Mr. McGee?" The doctor asked.

"Yes, we are."

"And it's Agent McGee." Added Gibbs, stern as usual.

"Right, they told me. NCIS. Navy Cops In Space. Yeah, I really don't think it stands for that…. OK, so about Agent McGee. He was dehydrated and his stab wound was infected but we're giving him fluids and antibiotics for that and we've stitched the wound, easy thing. He also had some bruise all over his chest and abdomen so once he's out of here he'll need to wait for them to fully heal until he goes back to… whatever you navy cops do. There was no extensive damage to any internal organ, so once the infection clears up, he'll be discharged with no lasting effects whatsoever."

"That is excellent news, Dr. Cunningham" Said Ducky, reading the name in the woman's nametag "and we thank you for your speedy job and for being kind enough to inform us."

"Always a pleasure working with the law people. Now, I have to go continue making my round, I'll go back to check on Agent McGee in a bit. You can go see him, he's in room 435, although he's probably still sleeping. Oh, and one or two visitors only at the same, ok? "

"Yes." Abby said, smiling, anxious to see Tim again "and thank you again!"

Everyone was smiling now. Those were very good news.

"Abby" said Gibbs, when the doctor was gone "why don't you go first?"

The goth just hugged her boss and stormed off to room 435. She found Tim still asleep and threw herself next to him.

"You can't imagine how happy I am that you're all right, Timmy. But never scare me like this again, ok?"

Back in the waiting room, Gibbs' smile was gone. He was on the phone with director Vance he didn't like what he was hearing.

"What do you mean he has escaped?" he asked, not believing his ears.

Abby barely noticed someone in a white coat walking into the room because her attention was on the patient next to her. But when she heard someone locking the door and closing the door she looked up.

"No!"

It was Kevin. Pointing a shotgun at her. In a white coat.

"You don't get to destroy my life and walk away with him. If I go down, you're coming down with me."

A/N: I know. Evil ending. I just didn't think that a villain like this would give up without a good fight. Hope you liked it! Feel free to tell me any of your thoughts on the story so far. I love to know if I'm doing good or no. Next one will be the last chapter!

You know you want to review!


	10. Chapter 10

"Kevin…." Started Abby, almost speechless."… How did you….?"

"Aren't you glad to see me, honey?" he said with a big smirk on his face. Everything was going the way he wanted to. No policemen had stopped, not even the NCIS. You put on some glasses and a white coat on a hospital and you disappear. He was good, he was real good!

"This placed is filled with policemen and military, Kevin. If you're as smart as you think you'll leave before they shoot you. It's only a matter of time." Abby said, holding her gaze. She had to keep herself together, be in control. If she broke down she would be in the mercy of the killer in front of her…. No… She had to outsmart him somehow.

"Abby, Abby, Abby" chanted her ex, while he started walking closer to her. "You made me lose myself completely. Abby, so determined, a woman as smart as she is beautiful. My woman. Mine, mine, mine, mine alone. I remember you lips, oh, that first I saw them. They were painted dark violet. They drove totally insane… I knew I had to get you somehow"

Abby's looked softened a bit at the memory and she managed a half-smile.

"Well, you had your charms, too." She said, getting even closer "And you were almost as determined as me"

"We have so much in common, my little violet."

"And you went to great lengths for me, that's sure…."

Kevin's eyes lightened up when he heard those words. Finally! Some recognition of all the work he'd done! All the trouble he went through for her…

"Exactly! All that I did, I did for you! It was a romantic gesture, to show you the depth of my love. Oh, Abs…. I knew all those things you said earlier couldn't be true… You don't hate me, you were just mad, right?"

"Well, I couldn't be with someone who had killed a friend, you know how important this has been for me…". Abby was still reluctant, but not as much as she'd been before.

"But now that your teammate is safe and definitely not dead" he said, lowering his gun and taking her by the waist "… shouldn't we continue were we left off?"

Abby gave him a naughty look.

"How am I letting you convince again?" she said, almost giggling.

"Because I am irresistible."

Kevin was over the moon. Not only had he escaped from that horrid cell, now the dreams of going away with Abby come to life again! He had her, he had his freedom. Everything was going perfect.

"Whatever we do, we have to do it out of here. Gibbs and the other want you, we should act before they notice you're gone."

"Of course, my little violet."

She took him by the hand and the led him to the door of the room, to a new life. Kevin was overjoyed but not surprised. He knew that she loved him and the mean things she said were an act. He knew she'd appreciate the effort he made for her, respond to his careful work. Hell, he should've told her form the start! This was the grand finale of his life, the climax. He was getting the he'd always wanted with a woman that appreciated him and knew him deeply.

Kevin was so lost in his thoughts that he barely registered Abby muttering a low "Tony, Ziva, now!" and didn't see the agents until they had disarmed and handcuffed him. When he registered what had happened he look at Abby, with a hurt look in his eyes.

"But Abby…"

"I don't want to hear your voice ever again! Take him out of my sight!"

"But… you love me."

"All and every feeling I could have for you died the day you decided to hurt Tim. You are nothing but a possessive piece of human junk and I'll make you pay for what you did to Tim and that poor man you killed. Your life is over, Kevin, say goodbye to it."

As Ziva and Tony took her psycho ex away, Abby let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Was it really over? She looked up and saw room 435 in front of her. There was still something left to do.

She sat next to Tim, on a big beige chair. He hadn't made a move since she'd first arrived probably hadn't realized all the conversation that had happened moments before. He was just asleep, unmoving, silent. Abby noticed for the first time how sick he looked. His usual pallor seemed to have a grey shadow in it and there were bruises cuts all over his face and hands. She had never seen him like this, not even when he returned from Somalia all banged up, he'd never been this bad. And it scared her.

"It's over now, Timmy" she said, holding back tears "He won't hurt you again, you're safe now. And all those things I said to him earlier… all lies. I just wanted to lure him out so he wouldn't start shooting in this room. To even think that I shared a bed with that psycho…. While you were hurting…. Oh, Timmy, I'm so so so so sorry! All you went through these last days, I mean, I can't even imagine…"

Big bright tears were running freely down her cheeks as she continued.

"I should have noticed. I've been an investigator for over a decade! But I didn't see it. I made an error in judgment and you suffered the consequences. And I'm so sorry! So sorry, Tim! But I'll make all better now, ok? I'll have lunch with you anytime you want… and play those games you like and… just anything, ok? Us two, like in the old times!"

Apparently, Abby's monologue had reached McGee, who stirred slightly and slowly opened his big eyes and looked at her. Abby was scared. What if there was more damage than what doctors had seen and he didn't recognize her? What if he was in terrible pain? What if…?

"Abby" Tim's voice said, barely above a whisper " 's good to see you."

Without even thinking, Abby was up and planting a kiss on her friend's bruised face. They looked at each other, both very happy with the reunion.

And thus it began. The longest hug of all.

In fact, when the rest of the team arrived the next morning they found them still in that hug, peacefully sleeping. Tony, Ziva, Gibbs, Ducky, all of them smiled silently, not wanting to wake them up. They knew they had to enjoy the calm while it lasted, those little moments of joy, rare as they were. This time, they got their happy ending.

They knew that the next monster wasn't too far away.

But whatever evil it was they would face it together.

FIN

A/N: I hate my endings. They tend to suck. Anyways, I will be very grateful if you take a moment to tell me what you thought of the chapter or of the story as a whole, any suggestions or ideas… Every comment is appreciated! And THANK YOU for staying till the very end! I really hope you enjoyed it!

You know you want to review! (this is your last chance! xD)


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